Academic Advice for the DSK Defense

Joseph Ax and Jennifer Golson have this article for Reuters on possible defense strategies in the DSK case. Trashing the victim is high on the list, despite the shield law. Then, there are two suggestions from academics:

At the same time, the defense could try to emphasize Strauss-Kahn's own character, arguing he was not the sort to commit sexual assault, said Todd Berger, who teaches criminal law at Rutgers University School of Law at Camden.

Or his lawyers could point to Strauss-Kahn's troubled history with women -- among other reports, a French journalist accused him of trying to force himself upon her in 2002, and his affairs have long been considered an open secret in France -- as evidence that he suffers from mental illness, said James Cohen, a professor at Fordham University School of Law.

I would suggest he not try both of those tactics before the same jury. Actually, either one would bring in evidence of DSK's "troubled history," a history I noted here might not be admissible in the prosecution's case in chief. The second tactic would require the defense to bring the evidence in itself; the first would open the door to that evidence in rebuttal.